4.7

Question 1

Why should Uk gov invest in infrastructure

Answer 1

• maintain growth
• improve accessibility
• expensive so require gov backing

Question 2

Examples of stakeholder involvement in gov regeneration projects

Answer 2

• local councils
• NGOs
• local individuals
• department for environment, food and rural affairs

Question 3

Infrastructure investments: HS2

Answer 3

• aims to reduce north south divide
• HS2 is a new high-speed rail network that will connect London to Birmingham and then the north
• Phase 1 is expected to open between 2029 and 2033
  It has been announced (2023) that phase 2 will no longer go ahead
• Estimated to create 22,000 jobs
• Cut travel times by half
  Initial cost of around £30 billion but now ballooned to £71 billion

Question 4

Infrastructure investments: Heathrow expansion

Answer 4

• Building a third runway to increase flight capacity by 260,000 flights per year
• It is expected to cost just under £20 billion, which would be privately funded
• Business leaders are in favour of the expansion, which could boost the wider economy by £61 billion and create an additional 77,000 jobs
• Local residents and environmental NGOs oppose the project as 761 homes will be demolished and pollution will increase with the extra flights

Question 5

How does gov control regeneration

Answer 5

• can make decisions affecting the rate and type of regeneration
• can prioritise national needs over local needs
• domestic policies can impact regeneration through:
• Planning laws and restrictions
• House building targets
• Housing affordability programmes
• Granting permissions for ‘fracking’

Question 6

Gov control: planning laws

Answer 6

• deciding how land is used and invested in
• goes can override local interests through the govs national planning policy framework which focuses on planning for sustainable development

Question 7

Gov priorities in the national planning policy framework

Answer 7

• affordable supply of homes
• strong economy
• conserving and enhancing environment
• sustainable transport
• effective use of land
• protecting green belt land (undeveloped land surrounding urban settlements which cannot be built on)

Question 8

Gov control: housing targets

Answer 8

• housing targets put in place to increase pressure on local authorities to grant permission to housing developers
• permission only granted if at least 10% is affordable housing
• average house price has rocketed due to demand outweighing supply
• would take over 50 years to clear backlog
• needs at least 1 million new homes

Question 9

Reasons for housing shortage

Answer 9

• more people live alone
• people live longer
• immigration
• right to buy policy reducing amount of council properties

Question 10

Gov control: fracking

Answer 10

• fracking began in UK in 2008
• was seen as an opportunity for securing energy supplies and increasing economic stability
• planning policies could be avoided if it was thought to be in national interest
• 2015 a new fast-track system was introduced to speed up licence applications for fracking
• many of the UK regions that have been granted fracking licences are located in either rural areas or deindustrialised areas, and would benefit from regeneration
• but … talk about negatives
• was suspended in 2018 due to govs lack of environmental consideration over impact of fracking

Question 11

Gov control: migration benefiting growth and investment

Answer 11

• Increased gross domestic product (GDP)
• Extra taxes and production
• Both well-qualified and lower-skilled immigrants can fill skills shortages

Question 12

Gov control: migration hindering growth and investment

Answer 12

• Increased pressure on services and housing availability in certain areas
• Social issues caused by asylum seekers being housed in hard-to-let properties in already deprived areas

Question 13

Gov control: benefits of deregulation

Answer 13

• Before the deregulation of financial markets in the 1970s and 80s, London was viewed as globally uncompetitive as only UK banks could operate in UK cities
• In 1986, the government decided to deregulate the financial sector in a policy known as the big bang, which meant:
• The London Stock Exchange became a private limited company
• Overseas companies to set up in London without governmental approval
• It drove the regeneration of London Docklands in Canary Wharf, with the skyscrapers the visible evidence of this new investment

Question 14

Gov control: drawbacks of deregulation

Answer 14

• Deregulation also enabled wealthy foreign investors to buy property as second homes, which meant they paid less tax in their home countries
• This has added to the lack of available housing as the owners often leave these homes unoccupied
• It is estimated that 138,000 residential and commercial properties in England and Wales are owned by offshore companies (2022)